I’m a week late, I very much apologise for that, i have been awaiting an email from the chip manufacturer during this time and as there wasn’t much to update you all on, it seemed kind of redundant to post an update saying “nothing to update”.

As the title says, 1 issue down, 1 more to go, We have managed to fix one issue so far, but it has revealed another issue that was hiding in the background. I am just in contact now with the chip manufacturer who is sending over some information at some point about how to try and combat this issue. So fingers crossed, this solves the issue and we can move on and start the process of getting these shipped out to you 🙂

I will post an update as soon as there is something worthwhile posting.
Thank you for all your support and reassurances via email, it really is very much appreciated.
Chris.

Hey Everyone,
This update will be pretty small unfortunately, but i did promise one, so here goes.
I have received the samples, I have been looking them over and testing them for the last 2 days and gathering as much info as possible for Texas Instruments (the company that makes the chip on the power supplies), We had a little breakthrough but apparently there is some other underlying issue left, So we are one step further than we was a few days ago, Hooray.

I will post another update 1 week from now as Ti will be closed for the weekend and there is some more troubleshooting to do.

First of all, Just to clarify, This update and all previous updates apply to both the DreamPSU and the SaturnPSU.

The manufacturer received the boards i sent them for testing and troubleshooting. They have checked them over and insist that those too don’t work, However, i have been using those boards for in my own consoles for the last 6 months without issue. So, where does this leave us? They have sent me 10 of each the DreamPSU and the SaturnPSU, I will then sit and test every single one of them and see if they work, if they work, we will be moving on with distribution. If they don’t, then the work will continue on trying to figure out what the hell has happened.

According to DHL, They samples they are sending me should be here on Wednesday the 11th I will spend the few days after fully testing them and then i will post an update on Friday the 13th (oh boy).

I really am thankful for all of your support, I know this is a short update and I’m sorry for that.

They have sent me information about why exactly the tests are failing is pretty much what i said in the last update, the PSU boots fine, but not every time.

As a result I have sent some working PSU’s so they can try and see what’s going on and why they are unable to produce a board they produces perfectly fine for the DreamPSU campaign.
I’m getting pretty tired of waiting around, so i cant imagine what its like for you guys, I really do apologize for all this bother.
Once they have received the prototypes and get some kind of update from them, i will let you know.
They should arrive at the manufacturer pretty soon, i sent them via 3-5 day service.

Just as a side note, this unfortunately affects both the SaturnPSU and DreamPSU.

Hey Everyone,
So here is the update for the SaturnPSU, Although i was able to get the sample boards working, after sending the information to the manufacturer, they was able to get a board working too, except, it only appears to work intermittently. They can test the board 10 times and it will work without issue, but then it might not work the next 2-3 times. Intermittent issues are a nightmare, we still are not sure why this is happening, the prototype i made up prior to manufacturing worked without fail every single time.
So this is the plan the manufacturer has emailed me and asked to confirm if its OK.

1. They are re-making the SaturnPSU PCB’s
2. They are going to try a different chip supplier.
3. Checking the assembly.

Obviously the big question everyone will want to know is, How long will this take / will the delay be?
Honest answer, I have no idea, This could be over with tomorrow, it could be (heaven forbid) another month. If we knew exactly what the issue was, then i would be able to give a more precise answer.
I understand this is frustrating not only for you, but myself also.
I just wanted this to go smoothly so i can start on all those requests that have been flooding my inbox about doing, such as the PS1 or PS2.

No matter how long it takes, we will sort this out and like i said before, you will receive your order, all i request is some patience and understanding.

I truly am sorry for this, and hope it doesn’t sour your view on the project.

I received the sample boards from the manufacturer, We have spent 3 days trying to find the issue, and we think we have found it, without boring you all to much with the details, here is a word of advice, Don’t just immediately trust a datasheet.

I have sent the findings to the manufacturer and they will be testing them and i should hear back by Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
Hopefully everything will be fine and we can proceed with the manufacturing.

Hey Everyone
We are pretty sure the issue is resolved, However they are sending me some sample boards so i can check them over and make sure they fully work as expected.
Thanks to Bank Holiday Monday the sample boards wont be in my hands until at least Tuesday, despite being sat in a DHL warehouse not to far from me.
I will let you all know how it goes and give you an update as soon as there is something to update 🙂

Thank you all for your understanding and I hope you enjoy your weekend.
Chris

Hey everyone,
Take a seat, I have some potentially bad news. I messed up.
When i sent the SaturnPSU’s away for manufacture, i messed up the BOM (Bill of Materials) by marked one of the resistors as 124k and not 121k that it should have been. As a result, the boards now output the wrong voltage on the 5v rail.

Luckily, they caught the issue in testing and emailed me 10 minutes ago about it. I just wanted to get this out there now as i don’t want to hide anything.
Worst case scenario is they wont be willing to change the resistor out on the SaturnPSU’s, if that it the case, they will be shipped to me and i will have to do them manually, this will take a fair amount of time.
Best case scenario is they replace the resistor with the correct one, and they ship me a working product.

The plan was to have all your orders shipped out by the end of April, despite the estimated delivery date on indiegogo, however that has now passed due to the backlog the manufacturer has.
Whatever the outcome may be, there will unfortunately be a delay in shipping your orders. But you WILL get your order.

I hope you will all forgive me for this stupid mistake, and be understanding of the impending delay.
I will keep you all updated as and when i get information.
Chris.

Hey Everyone,
I was hoping that by now i would have some more solid news. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, Word from the manufacturer is that the SaturnPSU’s will be shipped out to me at some point next week, and can take about a week to arrive.
Once they arrive, I will have to fully assemble the main power cable and test them. Then make up your orders and ship them out.
So, although it looks like the May delivery date will be reached, its looking closer to the latter half of May.
Thank you everyone for being so patient, and a note to anyone who is thinking of doing this kind of thing in the future, Don’t do it over Chinese New Year.
Chris